Spinning Vs. Baitcasting

[CrustyMono]

I have a...

7' M Fast w/ a 1500 size spinning 100 + 80 = $180

7'1" M Mod w/ a 6.3:1 casting 100 + 180 = $280

7'3" MH Fast w/ a 7.3:1 casting $130 + 180 = $310

broken casting rod that I can send in for a new model $130

7.3:1 casting reel $300

 

I am on a budget, because I buy all my own fishing gear (only 15). I want to get nicer gear that will be effective and last, but not be way too expensive. I know most of the people on this forum have really expensive gear. I am not trying to show off or boast. I wanted to include the price of my combos, so that it is easier to understand my limited budget. Most of the rods and reels were bought on sale or with a deal. I am looking to add 3 more combos within the near future. 2 casting and 1 spinning. I need a m power casting combo for jerk baits, topwater, and lipless cranks. I can get away with what i have now, if i trade in my broken rod for a 7'1" mh. That can delay the purchase of that setup. I need a rod to use for heavy  cover stuff like frogging, and fishing through lily pads. I would put my Quantum Smoke on that rod and buy another reel for the rod that lost the Smoke. I don't need this rod until late spring early summer. I am looking at spinning rods.

Spinning Rods

I currently have a 7' M Fast Cabela's Tournament ZX rod and 1500 size ZX reel. This is a great all around finesse setup for me. I fish mainly keitechs, wacky rigs, and drop shot. I want another spinning rod so that I can keep two finesse rigs on at once. one would be only drop shot, the other would be able to change applications often. I am looking at either another Tournament ZX combo (http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/rod-reel-combos/spinning-combos|/pc/104793480/c/104762880/sc/105791580/cabela-s-tournament-zx-spinning-combo/1937866.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fspinning-combos%2F_%2FN-1102843%2FNo-48%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105791580%3FWTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNP%26recordsPerPage%3D48) or a nicer Stadic Ci4+ and $100 rod setup. not sure which i will get. The stradic is a reel that i "reely" want. It is outstanding, but very expensive. the economical ZX is great, and would allow mr to get the casting combos quicker.

My question is:

which setups would be best for my arsenal? What rods could I use a wider range of techniques on?

[jr231]

Bud if you think you need to spend all that money on a fishing pole you're sorely mistaken. Are they nice ? You bet your ace... in every way. But, I've had 40+ fish days on a 30$ spinning combo. And also caught my personal best on a 29.99 Jimmy Houston spinning rod. my most expensive combo is a casting and it was 169$. I'm 9 years your senior and been in the real world for about 7 years. 

Moral of the story is get what you can afford ? Do we all want to drive a Lamborghini? Sure... but that civic gets you goin where you need to go every day. 

At 15 years old you have alot of time.. don't try to keep up with everyone else.. half these men are 40+ years old and have put their time in ! 

You seem very keen for your age. Get what you want while you can... 

Before you have kids... dun dun dunnn. 

[MassYak85]

2 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

At 15 years old you have alot of time.. don't try to keep up with everyone else.. half these men are 40+ years old and have put their time in ! 

You seem very keen for your age. Get what you want while you can... 

Before you have kids... dun dun dunnn. 

Even more than that. Enjoy your free time! I know I wish I had appreciated it a little bit more when I was younger (I'm only in college but still, my days of no responsibilities and weekday afternoons to do whatever I wanted are pretty much behind me). 

[burrows]

Time to save up for a jon boat or fishing kayak you seem to have what you need for the moment maybe start focusing on a boat for now.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Burros

[fvogel67]

Cabelas ZX Tournament rods are 69.99,Cabelas also has Fenwick Silverhawks for 49.99

[fishnkamp]

Lets look at this a bit differently. How often do you fish water that has lily pads or heavy vegetation?  The only reason to own a rod to fish frogs or flip, pitch or punch is if you fish water that has heavy vegetation and lily pads. I lived in PA for 5 years and fished up and down the Susquehanna  River, Raystown Lake, Beltzville Lake, Lake Wallenpaupack, Blue Marsh Lake, Lake Marburg, Foster Joseph Sawyers Lake and even Lake Cowanesque Lake up near the NY border. I even fished a bunch of smaller bodies of water up there too. I fished there from 1988 to 1995, so some of those lakes may have changed some, but in all of that time I never ran into a need to have a flipping stick or a frog rod.  I never owned one till I moved back to MD and started to fish tidal water again. There are places in the Potomac River and on the Susquehanna Flats that a frog and a flipping stick are major weapons to fish with. Seriously I am 54  years old and for my first 35 + years of fishing I did not need one. 

Look at your water, I know you just got your boat, deck out your rig and fish for the first ten trips. See what conditions you encounter for real.  Start learning what the fish in those lakes, streams, ponds do in the spring, summer, and fall. Let the fish tell you where they go, shallow or deep and then you will find what you actually need. 

 

[jr231]

3 hours ago, Cheesefrank said:

Time to save up for a jon boat or fishing kayak you seem to have what you need for the moment maybe start focusing on a boat for now.

  He has a boat ! I've seen his threads of modifications on the boat and "how I fish docks" 

He seems to be doing quite well ! Happy for him . 

[wdp]

22 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

Bud if you think you need to spend all that money on a fishing pole you're sorely mistaken. Are they nice ? You bet your ace... in every way. But, I've had 40+ fish days on a 30$ spinning combo. And also caught my personal best on a 29.99 Jimmy Houston spinning rod. my most expensive combo is a casting and it was 169$. I'm 9 years your senior and been in the real world for about 7 years. 

Moral of the story is get what you can afford ? Do we all want to drive a Lamborghini? Sure... but that civic gets you goin where you need to go every day. 

At 15 years old you have alot of time.. don't try to keep up with everyone else.. half these men are 40+ years old and have put their time in ! 

You seem very keen for your age. Get what you want while you can... 

Before you have kids... dun dun dunnn. 

True dat!

I've got some more expensive combos, but the last yr or so I've caught some of my biggest bass using a 6'6" M spinning rod from BPS that was bout $30 paired with a lower end Shimano spinning reel. It works great for throwing smaller topwater poppers like a Rapala skitter pop. And I can walk the dawg with this set up and it drives Bass crazy! ?

[Darren.]

Holy smokes! If I had your budget when I was 15!!! I have
4 boys from 12 to 19, so my gear isn't quite as pricey
as yours on the whole, but they sure do work!  

If you've got the $$ go ahead and spend it!! I'd love to
have done that at your age.

Expensive gear is not necessary, but can be very nice to
use, no doubt.

My most expensive gear is a $200 Chronarch 50e and 
a great Legend Tournament Walleye spinning rod paired
with a Shimano Stradic. I have 4 Stradics, for the record,
over the past many years. All bought on great deals.

Listen, I caught my PB on a 6' rod from Dick's Sporting
Goods with a Quantum Accurist casting reel I got during
BPS Spring Classic (back when it was actually good).

Total for that combo was *maybe* $120.

I've recently bought 2 spinning rods from BPS, both 
Micro Lites, one a travel 5'6" L and the other a 6' ML.
These are fantastic rods, to be honest. I've also got 
Carbonlites, Compres for spinning. They all are good,
though I'd put sensitivity edge (in the less-expensive 
range) with the Carbonlite, then the Micro Lites.

All that said, I return to my second paragraph. If money
is no issue, get what you want. If you feel you are showing
off or whatever, then tone it down a bit. Realize it isn't
the gear that makes you a great fisherman, but YOU that
makes you a great fisherman.

[jr231]

@wdp I caught my personal best on a skitter pop ! An oversized brown frog pattern !! Great bait. I feel like I could fish it against anybody using any other popper. 

I like yours and Darren's posts.. but apparently I have went a little crazy with the like button today. 

[new2BC4bass]

You've got more money in rods and reels than I did for the first 61 years of my life.  Admittedly I quit for 23 years.  At your age I was still fishing with a Mitchell 300 that my Dad got for me when I was 6 years old.  The rod came straight from K-Mart.  My two largest fish ever came with this type of gear.  My PB bass was caught on a used Falcon Original I bought for $33.33.  Don't remember the reel as I take different ones with me when visiting relation in Florida.

I have no idea where your money is coming from or if you never have to worry about money, but I'd like to give you a little advice I learned too late in life.  Learn to save.  I always figured I had time.  Wrong.  Form a good savings habit right now.  It is something you will forever be grateful for learning.  Maybe not now, but later without a doubt.  Ignore this advise if you are a trust fund baby.  Or have parents that are willing to fund your fishing hobby.  Buy whatever you have the money for at that moment.

[CrustyMono]

5 hours ago, Cheesefrank said:

Time to save up for a jon boat or fishing kayak you seem to have what you need for the moment maybe start focusing on a boat for now.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I already have all the small water craft i need. a paddle board, kayak, inflatable canoe, 10' jon, and a 14' vhull. my friend also has 2 kayaks and a12' jon that we use a lot.

[CrustyMono]

13 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

You've got more money in rods and reels than I did for the first 61 years of my life.  Admittedly I quit for 23 years.  At your age I was still fishing with a Mitchell 300 that my Dad got for me when I was 6 years old.  The rod came straight from K-Mart.  My two largest fish ever came with this type of gear.  My PB bass was caught on a used Falcon Original I bought for $33.33.  Don't remember the reel as I take different ones with me when visiting relation in Florida.

I have no idea where your money is coming from or if you never have to worry about money, but I'd like to give you a little advice I learned too late in life.  Learn to save.  I always figured I had time.  Wrong.  Form a good savings habit right now.  It is something you will forever be grateful for learning.  Maybe not now, but later without a doubt.  Ignore this advise if you are a trust fund baby.  Or have parents that are willing to fund your fishing hobby.  Buy whatever you have the money for at that moment.

 

55 minutes ago, Darren. said:

Holy smokes! If I had your budget when I was 15!!! I have
4 boys from 12 to 19, so my gear isn't quite as pricey
as yours on the whole, but they sure do work!  

All that said, I return to my second paragraph. If money
is no issue, get what you want. If you feel you are showing
off or whatever, then tone it down a bit. Realize it isn't
the gear that makes you a great fisherman, but YOU that
makes you a great fisherman.

 

1 hour ago, Yeajray231 said:

He seems to be doing quite well ! Happy for him . 

Thanks for all the advice! Here is my short story. My family is not wealthy, my parents are both teachers. my mom came from a large family that was supported from only her father, and my dad had parents with very good economical skills, but they were also teachers too. They value education very much. it has helped me become a better angler, by being observant and willing to learn. this forum and youtube is where i come to learn. I got into fishing seriously about 18 months ago. Until then, I have saved up all my money. I am an avid coin collector, I hit the jackpot once at the bank and made around $10,000 worth of coins. I am saving those for a long time. My grandparents are very generous. they invested in a boat with me, gave me $100 for xmas and my birthdays. I had about four thousand dollars before i bought a boat and a nice computer for school and now fishing. I also find random ways to make money, like raking a neighbor's leaves. I have always followed the philosophy of buying quality things that don't break easily. Im not buying luxury items. For example, i would rather buy a newer truck that can handle snow and will last long, then a sports car that is too expensive. I wouldn't buy an old truck that needs to be fixed every month. i hope that helps to explain my source of income and my philosophies.

 I sold some toys that i don't use anymore for 150$. i bought a $100 duckett ghost and a 45$ reel from dick's. The combo worked great until it got stolen. I had no clue what i was buying prior to that incident in late november. The coming winter gave me time to research and learn a ton. I knew what rods to get to restart my arsenal. i got one combo for xmas, and the other for my birthday in february. By then, i knew a little bit about the various techniques that there were and what gear they were best for. I wanted a spinning setup for finesse, a heavy rod for frogs and flipping, and a mh for all the other lures. Now that I am starting to fish competitively, and spend more time on the water, I find myself requiring rods and reels that will stand up to the abuse and help me land more fish. 

my idea is to get the necessary rods and reels to effectively cover each tactic, and then acquire a few more baits, but enough to catch fish almost every time, which i only catch a fish 25% of the time. I know rods and reels and fancy stuff don't make you a better fisherman, but they certainly help. Also you can't catch fish if you don't have the right lures. I also have to rebuild my boat, which will cost money.

4 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

 

Look at your water, I know you just got your boat, deck out your rig and fish for the first ten trips. See what conditions you encounter for real.  Start learning what the fish in those lakes, streams, ponds do in the spring, summer, and fall. Let the fish tell you where they go, shallow or deep and then you will find what you actually need. 

 

I fish several bodies of water with thick vegetation and heavy cover, it is pretty important that i have a rod to fish that stuff.

[wdp]

1 hour ago, Yeajray231 said:

@wdp I caught my personal best on a skitter pop ! An oversized brown frog pattern !! Great bait. I feel like I could fish it against anybody using any other popper. 

I like yours and Darren's posts.. but apparently I have went a little crazy with the like button today. 

Oh yeah. It's been one of my go to baits the last couple seasons from pre-spawn into the Fall. I figured out I could throw it further on that spinning combo with 10# power pro & learned how to make it walk after a few practice sessions in my local neighborhood pond. Now, 90% of the time a skitter pop is tied to the end of that rod. I've caught a bunch of 5-7 pounders with it and the biggest was an 8.5#. 

[MBB Nate]

I caught my PB on my spin rod which I fish way more than my baitcasters.  Its also my cheapest rig: $30 ML XF Daiwa Laguna rod and a $50 Pflueger President.

 

Technique and knowlege > gear

[burrows]

2 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

  He has a boat ! I've seen his threads of modifications on the boat and "how I fish docks" 

He seems to be doing quite well ! Happy for him . 

Well then by all means continue with the arsenal my brother!

[fishnkamp]

If the water you fish does require using that technique, then I would prioritize that rod as my first need. It is simple, you have a reel that will match up with it already.  Fill that need first. You already have 1 good spinning rod for the moment. Once you have that covered, then look into the second spinning combo. What can you rade that broken rod for? Another rod from that manufacturer or anything brand you want?

 That Shimano Stradic is supposed to be terrific, but it is very high priced. Take a good look at the Pflueger Supreme or a Pflueger President XT. I fish a bunch of the standard Pflueger Presidents which hold up forever.  Lots of guys like the President XT and Limited Edition better, but I have never needed to try them.  My newest reel is an Okuma RTX 30, super light and very strong. My friend Bryan landed some huge snakeheads on that reel this past summer. I think his largest ones were caught on that spinning reel and a Tatula HD baitcaster.  He regularly catches them up to 15  pounds or more. That RTX series and the Helios are really nice reels. Okuma is quickly becoming third "BIG" reel company in my opinion, right beside Daiwa and Shimano. At this point I would stay away from the Shimano spinning reels.   I have been hearing about some models having issues and Shimano not having answers. I wish I knew about them before I purchased Linda's Symmetre. I am hoping hers does not start locking up like some have.

 Rods used for bottom contact baits require the most sensitivity.  I never spend too much on a spinning reel, but rather save my money for the most sensitive rods possible.  For me most of my baitcasting reels cost way more than my spinning reels do. For a very sensitive spinning rod look seriously at the ST Croix Avid X  rods.  Since you have a medium fast spinning rod take a good look at a AXS69MLXF.  That is a 6'9" ML XF rod. It is super lightweight, very sensitive. and covers 1/8 to 1/2 ounce lures. It will handle light grubs, Ned rigs, drop shots and lots more. That rod is going to run you around $200, so if you add an Okuma RTX30 for around $75 you will have a extremely lightweight sensitive combo. The RTX 30 only weighs 6.6 ounces and the rod only weighs 3.6 ounces. You could throw that all day and never know you did.

[MassYak85]

OP kind of sounds like me a little bit. I was pretty conservative with money growing up and saved a lot of it up from birthdays and Christmas and never really had a hobby I was spending much money on...

Until about 4 years ago when I learned about all the different techniques there were for various conditions and all the new tackle "I needed to buy". I wish I had enough for a boat though haha. 

But make sure you focus on knowledge and how to fish effectively more than on gear itself. Certain things you do "need" to buy but don't feel like you need a technique specific rod for absolutely everything. Learn what you like and what you use most in your areas and then hone your gear from there. 

[soflabasser]

12 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

 See what conditions you encounter for real.  Start learning what the fish in those lakes, streams, ponds do in the spring, summer, and fall. Let the fish tell you where they go, shallow or deep and then you will find what you actually need. 

 

Good advice. It's significantly more important to know how to read a body of water well than what specific gear a bass fisherman uses.

5 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

But make sure you focus on knowledge and how to fish effectively more than on gear itself. Certain things you do "need" to buy but don't feel like you need a technique specific rod for absolutely everything. Learn what you like and what you use most in your areas and then hone your gear from there. 

I agree with you 100%. 

[zachb34]

While a lot of the previous responses are great, I thought I'd chime in a little bit on the price aspect. I joined this forum when I was 14 years old ( I turn 20 in a few weeks). I never realized how expensive the sport can be until I saw some of these tackle junkies and the stuff they bought. Since I was 14 I've, worked 3 different jobs (never unemployed) owned 4 boats, owned two vehicles, and have started college. The only thing that's stayed consistent is I've bought quality gear, and only had to buy it once. Besides for the stuff that's been stolen, or the stuff that fell off my boat while on the trailer, my quality gear has given me service all these years. My advice, look for good deals on quality gear and later on when life gets more hectic, you take on more responsibilities, and pay bills, you'll atleast not have to replace worn out and broken rods and reels. 

[CrustyMono]

2 hours ago, zachb34 said:

While a lot of the previous responses are great, I thought I'd chime in a little bit on the price aspect. I joined this forum when I was 14 years old ( I turn 20 in a few weeks). I never realized how expensive the sport can be until I saw some of these tackle junkies and the stuff they bought. Since I was 14 I've, worked 3 different jobs (never unemployed) owned 4 boats, owned two vehicles, and have started college. The only thing that's stayed consistent is I've bought quality gear, and only had to buy it once. Besides for the stuff that's been stolen, or the stuff that fell off my boat while on the trailer, my quality gear has given me service all these years. My advice, look for good deals on quality gear and later on when life gets more hectic, you take on more responsibilities, and pay bills, you'll atleast not have to replace worn out and broken rods and reels. 

pretty much sums up my philosophy!